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House of Assembly - Fifty-Second Parliament, First Session (52-1)
2010-11-25 Daily Xml
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SA AMBULANCE SERVICE

Ms THOMPSON (Reynell) (14:42): My question is to the Minister for Health. I am very pleased to be able to record in asking this question, minister, that my niece has recently graduated as a paramedic. I would be pleased if you could give the house some recent examples of ambulance officers and volunteers who have gone above and beyond the call of duty in their work.

The Hon. J.D. HILL (Kaurna—Minister for Health, Minister for Mental Health and Substance Abuse, Minister for the Southern Suburbs, Minister Assisting the Premier in the Arts) (14:43): I thank the member for Reynell for her question and I know her niece. I did not realise she had finished. I did meet her niece, who was in training, a couple of years ago in one of our country ambulance stations.

Mr Pisoni interjecting:

The Hon. J.D. HILL: What did he say? I have no idea what he is talking about it. Madam Speaker, I am very pleased to be able to answer this question. As members would know, the most important part of any service—and this is particularly true, of course, of the Ambulance Service—is the quality of the personnel who work within a particular organisation. While all ambulance staff, both volunteer and professional, are to be commended for their dedication and hard work, sometimes individual stories are worthy of special commendation.

The recent graduation and presentation ceremony of the South Australian Ambulance Service happened last weekend, and it was the first one I have missed in a number of years. It was my wedding anniversary, so I was able to get a leave pass from that particular ceremony, but I was disappointed that I was not able to be there, because it was an opportunity to celebrate the great work of people who provide services to our community.

Ray Creen, the chief executive officer, presented his Chief Executive Officer Commendations for outstanding level of service to SA Ambulance Service and the South Australian community. I would like to share with the house some of the people who received those awards. Marla ambulance officers John Charlton and Rosemary Hearne received awards for dedication and commitment to the remote community of Marla. Let me just tell you what they did to achieve that.

At 9.45pm on 28 August 2009, John and Rosemary attended a case 40 kilometres north of Marla in the South Australian Far North. John and Rosemary assisted with the search, and the car that they were looking for was located at 12.30am on 29 August 2009. One patient was deceased and the other was unconscious and seriously injured. After stabilisation at the Marla clinic, the patient was transported to Coober Pedy (that is 230 kilometres to the south) to meet a MedSTAR retrieval team.

At 2.50am, en route to Coober Pedy, Rosemary and John had a tyre blowout, and replaced the tyre with the assistance of truck drivers who stopped to help. The patient was then delivered into the care of MedSTAR at Coober Pedy at 4.45am. At 6.10am Rosemary and John started their return journey back to Marla, finally arriving home at 8.30am, nearly 11 hours after the initial case commenced.

The efforts of Rosemary and John in seeing the case through to the end were well and truly above what the ambulance service expects of its volunteers and in particular highlight the dedication, skill and commitment of remote area staff to literally go that extra mile in what are challenging and often complex situations.

Port Kenny volunteer ambulance officers Liz Guerin and Barbara (known as Polly) Hull and regional team leader Paul Coombes received awards for selflessness, courage and commitment in assisting a patient in hazardous circumstances. Terry Paul, a bystander, and Lee Amey, a CFS volunteer, also received awards for selflessness, courage and outstanding support to the patient and SA Ambulance Service staff, and I will just go through that story.

On 4 January this year, a patient who had fallen approximately 40 metres off a cliff at Venus Bay on the West Coast was severely injured and in an extremely difficult position to reach. It was decided that the Port Kenny volunteer crew of Liz and Polly would walk down to the patient. They were guided down by a local surfer, Terry Paul, who knew the area very well. It took approximately one hour for the crew to reach the patient, after locating a safe section on the clifftop from which they could descend.

In darkness, Terry went up and down the cliff face three times to direct ambulance staff safely and played an important role in assisting the SA Ambulance Service in the treatment of the patient. Sadly, the patient succumbed to serious injury and passed away in the early hours of the morning. Given the conditions, this was a very demanding and challenging case for all who attended, due to the remoteness and difficult access to the patient.

Paramedics David Oldman and Libby Bennett received awards for composure, courage and skill in averting a tragic accident in hazardous circumstances. On 21 August 2010, Libby and David were in the process of transferring a patient to another hospital when they came across a vehicle accident which had just occurred in Modbury.

They stopped to investigate and discovered a patient trapped inside a vehicle, with two bystanders trying to rescue her. One of the rescuers was in the rear seat and was later transported to hospital himself with smoke inhalation. Smoke was coming from the car, and there was a very real fear of fire or an explosion. David quickly grabbed the fire extinguisher, while Libby and the second bystander struggled to remove the patient from the car wreck.

The crew recognised that they were putting themselves at risk and also knew that they may have to retreat at any moment if the fire threat could not be controlled. After they got the patient out of the vehicle in less than a minute, the car and adjacent tree were in flames.

Ms Chapman interjecting:

The Hon. J.D. HILL: I am disappointed that the member for Bragg would interrupt my statement about heroism from real South Australian people to make a puerile point by way of interjection.

As I was saying, after these heroic ambulance officers got the patient out of the vehicle within a minute, the car and adjacent tree were in flames. Had it not been for their bravery, the bravery of the crew and the bystanders, the patient most likely would have succumbed to injuries as a result of entrapment in a burning vehicle.

Jennifer O’Hehir, a paramedic with the SA Ambulance Service for approximately 18 months, and paramedic intern, Katie Spencer, received awards for outstanding courage, selflessness and dedicated response to a patient following their own involvement in a vehicle accident. I had the pleasure of having morning tea with Jen and Katie this morning, when they told me about what they had done. On 13 October this year, Jen and Katie were on their way to an alleged hit run, when they themselves were involved in a vehicle accident—a car pulled out in front of them. The accident occurred about 120 metres from the patient.

The officers checked that the occupants of the other vehicle were injured, and then, their vehicle being disabled, they ran on foot to assist the patient, carrying the heavy equipment that they needed to do that. The courage and spirit shown by all involved in the treatment of this patient is exemplary. Jen and Katie are acknowledged for carrying on in the face of adversity to assist their patient and their peers after themselves being involved in an accident.

These are all heroic actions undertaken, in some cases, by volunteers who are making our community a stronger and safer place. I for one am extraordinarily proud of the efforts which not only these officers take but which all the officers of our ambulance service regularly take on our behalf. These officers and all emergency services personnel who face confronting, tragic cases and put their own lives at risk to help others deserve the praise and gratitude of all South Australians.

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